Israel’s intense barrage of airstrikes on Wednesday hit without warning deep inside the Lebanese capital of Beirut, blowing buildings open to the elements and reducing apartment blocks to rubble in parts of the city that have traditionally escaped attack.

It was not immediately clear what was targeted. The Israeli military later said Iran-backed Hezbollah had repositioned to residential and commercial areas far from its usual sphere of influence on the city’s southern outskirts, where the Shiite terror organization’s yellow flags appear on lampposts and Israeli evacuation orders have been in place for weeks.

The bombardment killed more than 300 people and wounded over 1,800 others, according to the Lebanese health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that more than 200 Hezbollah operatives were killed. Most of the casualties were reported in Beirut and its southern suburbs.

Among the targets of the Wednesday strikes, the Israel Defense Forces said, were Hezbollah command centers and other military infrastructure, including intelligence headquarters and offices used by Hezbollah to plan attacks on IDF troops and Israeli civilians;........

© The Times of Israel